A rooftop cocktail with views of the Mile High City is always nice. But a beautifully designed bar interior with a thoughtfully curated art collection and design features that tell a story? That’s the ultimate garnish.
Here in Denver, beautiful cocktail bars range from a sultry subterranean tropical drinking den on historic Larimer Square to a statement-making rooftop “sky garden” in RiNo with impressive city views. Ahead, these 10 bars are high-proof and high-design.
The Cruise Room’s 1930s Glamour
While many speakeasies try to emulate Prohibition-era style, The Cruise Room in The Oxford Hotel doesn’t need to pretend. It opened the day after the repeal of Prohibition in 1933 and remains one of Denver’s top martini lounges.
Modeled after the bar on the RMS Queen Mary, it features a wine bottle–shaped layout and a sultry red glow that makes it a favorite for photos. A fluted bar, curvaceous banquettes, and Art Deco panels depicting clinking glasses around the world complete the glam aesthetic.
Order a martini and raise your own glass to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the man whose proclamation officially ended Prohibition. 600 17th St., Denver, theoxfordhotel.com/eat-drink/the-cruise-room
Cooper Lounge, a Beaux-Arts Beauty
Lofted above the Great Hall in Denver’s Beaux-Art-styled Union Station, the Cooper Lounge channels the golden age of train travel, drawing inspiration from icons like the Orient Express and the California Zephyr. Recently refreshed with new lighting and plush furnishings, the romantic bar now features banquette seating equipped with oversized built-in buckets to keep bottles of bubbly on ice.
The cocktail menu blends timeless classics such as Manhattans, Old Fashioneds, and gin fizzes, along with inventive modern creations. Design enthusiasts should also take note. The trio of soaring arched windows that bathe the space in light showcase original wrought iron and plaster columbines, a tribute to Colorado’s official state flower. 1701 Wynkoop St., Denver, cooperlounge.com
Call Me Pearl’s Chic Grandma Design
The first thing you’ll likely notice when you arrive at Call Me Pearl is the showstopper of a chandelier that’s strung with 1,350 glass orbs that shimmer like iridescent pearls.
Set inside The Rally Hotel at McGregor Square, this cocktail lounge is designed to feel like a chic grandmother’s cocktail-party-ready living room, layered with taupe, mauve, and deep green tones, rich fabrics, and rounded leather lounge chairs.
A Polaroid camera invites you to capture your night out, perhaps with a vodka Freezer Martini in hand. Pair with a $25 caviar bump from the cocktail lounge’s raw bar. 1600 20th St., Denver, callmepearlbar.com
Emerald Eye, a Sultry Tropical Bar
For a tropical escape in the Mile High City, head to Larimer Square and look for the neon frond icon marking a door. Behind it, a staircase lined with jungle green zellige tiles leads you down into Emerald Eye, a sultry, jungle-inspired bar that trades kitsch for opulence.
Vintage-style lighting casts an amber glow over the space, evoking the feeling of a tropical speakeasy. Designed by Austin-based Alice Clark, the interior honors the building’s historic roots by preserving original stone foundation walls while layering in velvet lounge seating and a moody “dark tropical” palette.
Botanical hues and subtle eye-shaped motifs accent the space, with murals hand-painted by local artist Rachel Yarbrough of Little Bones Signs. The cocktail menu favors rum and agave spirits, featuring standouts like a clarified rum punch and a mangonada made with mango, tequila, Aperol, lime, and soda. 1403 Larimer St., emeraldeyedenver.com
Poka Lola’s Mid-Century Soda Shop Feel
Poka Lola, a nostalgic soda shop inspired bar set near the lobby of The Maven Hotel, is a visual feast where every design detail vies for your attention. Keep an eye out for mint green vintage milk glass bottles, black-and-white geometric floor tiles, and illuminated stained glass panels that add a warm glow above the bar.
The bar extends into the Dairy Block Maker’s Alley, offering outdoor seating in a buzzy space. Named the “most beautifully designed bar” in the state by Architectural Digest, Poka Lola backs up its style with substance.
The cocktail menu covers classics like an espresso martini alongside inventive seasonal cocktails, which may feature a spirit such as chamomile-infused mezcal. There’s also a solid selection of mixologist-designed shots. 1850 Wazee St., pokaloladenver.com
Death & Co’s Beautiful Hotel Lobby Residence
When Death & Co (D&C) Denver opened in 2018, it was the first new outpost of the brand since its inception in the East Village of New York City on New Year’s Eve, 2006. Certain design elements of the space remain universal. For starters, every D&C bar features a white marble bar, a mirrored back bar, and stepped walls of under-lit bottles glowing amber.
In Denver, though, those familiar threads are scaled up and dramatized. The delicate chandeliers of New York City are replaced with large, statement-making fixtures that fill the room. And those moody dark earth tones expand with jewel tones, giving the space a richer palette.
Co-founder David Kaplan said the Denver location created a bar space that stretches out, thanks to soaring ceilings and dramatic windows in the lobby of The Ramble Hotel, a 50-room boutique stay.
NINE dot ARTS curated the property’s art collection, exclusively featuring artwork from Denver artists, many of whom have studios in the RiNo neighborhood. 1280 25th St., Denver, deathandcompany.com
Sorry Gorgeous’ Sky Garden
“Sensual sky garden.” That was the vision driving the design of Sorry Gorgeous, a rooftop bar perched atop Novel RiNo, a mixed-use apartment building in Denver’s artsy RiNo district.
Designed by Abigail Plantier, founder of Maximalist, a hospitality design studio, the space is a lush, moody escape on the building’s 12th floor. Deep cobalt blues, floating moon pendants, and a sinuous teal banquette that winds through the room set the tone. A collection of houseplants enhances the dreamscape, while a glowing golden oculus above the bar adds a celestial touch.
A wall of windows opens onto a rooftop patio, where city lights twinkle like urban stars and rectangular fire pits keep guests cozy on cool nights. 1350 40th St., Denver; sorrygorgeousrooftop.com
Room for Milly’s Global Feel
“We wanted to create a space that transcends location,” says Fiona Arnold, co-owner of Room for Milly. “A design that transports you to London or Florence or your beloved eccentric great aunt’s apartment in New York.”
The whole bar revolves around a fictional 1920s socialite named Milly Parker, who, as the tale is told, is an unconventional woman with a passion for travel and the flow of cocktails and conversation. The whimsical cocktail lounge on Platte Street sets out to capture her spirit. The design evokes a colorful, feminine take on a throwback Bloomsbury-style club, the kind of space where artists, writers, and intellectuals once gathered.
Eclectic artwork lines the walls, blending carefully sourced pieces from local artists alongside thrifted finds, a collection curated by Kate Finds Art. Behind the bar, a striking wallpaper mural titled Early Views of India, handpainted by de Gournay, serves as a visual anchor.
The cocktail menu takes a globetrotting approach, too. Case in point, a Japanese ice shaver is used to craft a gin-lemon cocktail with bergamot and saffron. 1615 Platte St. #145, Denver, roomformilly.com
The Broken Cage’s Plant-Filled Bar
We’re suckers for drinking and dining destinations that feel like secret gardens, and The Broken Cage in LoHi is exactly that. Less a typical bar and more a lush cocktail garden, it’s a place where you can sip something botanical while surrounded by greenery. The space doubles as a houseplant shop.
Owner Layla Friend says she keeps a variety of plants in the bar, including some rare ones like Monstera Albo, as well as variegated Alocasias and begonias. Philodendrons drape over the bar.
Beautiful cocktails are garden-inspired, too. Go for the ice wine martini with elderflower, or the Unimportance of Being Ernest, a rum drink with grapefruit, and basil. Bonus, plant shopping after a cocktail makes for an especially happy hour. 2420 17th St., Denver, thebrokencage.com
The Beacon’s Creative Artist-Designed Spaces
In RiNo, Beacon comprises an immersive art and dance bar. What exactly does that mean? You can dance under a cloud installation or belly up to the Willow Weave Bar, which features sustainably sourced branches and gives imbibers the feeling as though they’re enjoying a cocktail under a tree.
In another space called The Portal, LED orbs strung across ceilings and walls create a light show. They’re sound reactive, which means they dance to the music being played in the space. Cocktails range from riffs on negronis to the Sasquatch Smash, a bourbon and strawberry jam drink made to get you dancing. 2854 Larimer St., be.thebeacon.co
